Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Using Bar Coding to Reduce Errors in Medicine Administration
. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
HVBarCod.rtf
This 12 page paper discusses the use of bar coding to help prevent mistakes in administering medicines. Bibliography lists 11 sources.
Page Count:
12 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVBarCod.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
that others die when they are given the wrong medication, and its no wonder that going to the hospital can be a truly frightening experience. This paper discusses the use
of bar coding to help prevent mistakes in administering medicines. Discussion Patient safety is of paramount concern to health care providers, so it is only to be expected that they
have become increasingly concerned with medication errors, which are occurring at an "alarming rate," and the majority of which occur when a nurse "mistakenly administers a medication" (Anderson and Wittwer,
2004, p. 5). In 1999, the "Institute of Medicine report called for increasing the use of information technology to reduce medication errors" (Anderson and Wittwer, 2004, p. 5). In the
nursing units that Anderson and Wittwer describe (St. Marys Hospital Medical Center in Madison, Wisconsin), use of "bar-code point-of-care medication" resulted in a "59% to 70% decrease in medication administration
errors" (Anderson and Wittwer, 2004, p. 5). Their article describes how the system works to "track, reduce, and prevent bedside medication errors while having a positive effect on nursing satisfaction"
(Anderson and Wittwer, 2004, p. 5). The problem of error in medication administration is exacerbated by the increasing nursing shortage in the U.S. and the "disjointed use of hospital information
technology systems" (Anderson and Wittwer, 2004, p. 5). Anderson and Wittwer describe the evolution of the system St. Marys uses, the medication issue, and the nursing shortage and its impact
on point-of-care medication administration. It is the nursing shortage that seems to be of paramount importance, because it has a direct impact on the quality of nursing care; it is
forecast that there will be a shortage of "up to 800,000 registered nurses by the year 2020" (Anderson and Wittwer, 2004, p. 5). It makes sense, then, that nurses who
...